Heuchera plant named ‘Christa’

ABSTRACT

The new hybrid cultivar of  Heuchera villosa  with lightly cupped foliage of reddish-peach, maturing to multi-shaded with greenish bronze to tan, and light pink flowers and improved heat tolerance.

Botanical denomination: Heuchera hybrid.

Cultivar designation: ‘Christa’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Coral Bells in the Saxifragaceae family and given the cultivar name of ‘Christa’. Heuchera ‘Christa’ resulted from a cross between Heuchera ‘Gloire D'Orléans’ (not patented) and Heuchera villosa ‘Caramel’. The new plant was hybridized and selected from among other seedlings growing at a nursery in Hantay, France in the summer of 2005. Heuchera ‘Christa’ has been asexually propagated by division and by careful tissue culture propagation at the same nursery in Hantay, France and Rijswik, Netherlands, respectively, and the resultant propagules have been remained stable and exhibit the same characteristics as the original plant

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Heuchera ‘Christa’ differs from its parents as well as all other Coral Bells known to the applicant in the following combined traits:

-   -   1. The foliage color of ‘Christa’ emerges a reddish peach in the         spring and develops a greenish bronze in full sun.     -   2. The flower color is a light pink.     -   3. The plant is compact and is more heat tolerant than hybrids         without Heuchera villosa in the lineage.

The nearest comparison varieties are Heuchera ‘Caramel’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,560 and Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,945. The new plant is smaller in plant habit and in leaf size, has more reddish coloration in the leaf in early spring and is more floriferous, with pink flowers compared to the creamy flowers of ‘Caramel’. ‘Marmalade’ has white flowers and more curled foliage than the new plant. In comparison to the parents, Heuchera ‘Gloire d'Orleans’ has smaller green foliage with a dark spot in the center and pink flowers, while Heuchera ‘Caramel’ has cream flowers with less orange in the foliage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the overall appearance of the plant including the unique traits. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Some slight variation of color may occur as a result of lighting quality, intensity, wavelength, and direction or reflection.

FIG. 1 shows a close-up of the foliage of the new plant in early spring.

FIG. 2 shows a one-year old plant with fall foliage.

FIG. 3 shows an overhead view of the plant with the various foliage colors in early spring.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following description is based on a one-year old plant growing in a fill sun trial garden with supplemental water and fertilizer in Zeeland, Mich., U.S.A. The new plant has not been grown under all possible environments and may phenotypically appear different under different conditions such as light, temperatures, fertilizer, and water, without any difference in genotype. The color descriptions used are from the 2001 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used.

-   Parentage: ‘Gloire d'Orleans’— female (seed parent); ‘Caramel’— male     (pollen). -   Plant habit: Hardy herbaceous perennial with basal rosette of     foliage; mounded foliage about 18 cm tall and 30 cm in diameter. -   Roots: Fibrous, finely branched. -   Growth rate: Rapid, rooting from cutting in 2 weeks and finishing in     three-liter container in about 3 months. -   Foliage:     -   -   Leaf.—Cordate, serrate, palmately lobed, slightly shiny             surface above when young in the spring, matte surface below             and when mature; blade about 8 cm long and 8 cm wide;             undulate to lightly concavely cupped; leaf color is             variable, spring young emerging leaves top surface RHS 179B             on top and RHS 185B underneath; summer and fall mature             leaves in full sun RHS 164D above and RHS 159A with slight             violet tinting below, summer and fall mature leaves in some             shade can be RHS N170B and closest to RHS 148B with more             bronze above and RHS 184A below.         -   Leaf margin.—Serrate and hirtellous between lobe apexes and             hirsute at lobe apexes.         -   Leaf apex.—Acute.         -   Leaf base.—Cordate with overlapping lobes.         -   Leaf surface.—Hirtellous both above and below.         -   Leaf quantity.—About 25 per plant. -   Veins: Palmate, same color as leaf on top surface; below RHS 186C on     emerging foliage, RHS 186B on foliage with shade and RHS 159B. -   Petiole: Round, hirsute, about 9 cm long and 2 mm wide; lighter than     RHS 183D on older foliage and 185C on emerging foliage. -   Inflorescence: In open panicle, about 15 panicles per plant; about     80 flowers per panicle; each panicle flowering starting in late June     for about 3 weeks; no fragrance detected. -   Peduncle: Round in cross section, hirsute, about 55 cm tall and 3 mm     in diameter; RHS 183C. -   Pedicel: Round in cross section, hirtellous, about 10 mm long and 1     mm diameter; RHS 183D. -   Buds: One day prior to opening—oblong, about 5 mm long and 2 mm     diameter, closest to RHS 63B. -   Flower: Campanulate, about 7 mm long and 4 mm in diameter at face;     individual flowers lasting about 4 days on plant or on cut panicle. -   Petals: Five, apex narrowly acute; about 3 mm long and 1.5 mm wide;     nearest RHS 73D on both surfaces. -   Androecium: Filaments five, thin, white, lighter than RHS 155D;     anthers and pollen have not observed. -   Gynoecium: Single style with pistil split at tip; 6 mm long; lighter     than RHS 192D. -   Calyx: Five-lobed, campanulate, acute apex, 3 mm long, fused in the     bottom 1 mm; nearest RHS 137D with tinting of violet. -   Fruit: Two-beaked capsule, about 6 mm long and 3 mm in diameter at     widest portion; RHS 199A. -   Seed: Ovoid, less than 1 mm long and wide; black, RHS 202A. -   Disease and pest tolerance: The new plant grows best with ample     moisture and drainage in either sun or shade. It is more tolerant of     hot conditions than typical Coral Bells. Cold hardy from USDA zones     4 to 9. Other resistance and tolerance outside of that normal for     Heuchera is not known. 

1. The new and distinct Coral Bells plant named Heuchera ‘Christa’ as herein described and illustrated with young spring foliage of reddish-peach, maturing to multi-shaded foliage with greenish bronze to tan, comprising light pink flowers, with improved heat tolerance. 